Sports

Paul Bissonnette is having the best season of his professional hockey career.

And it's all happening in the desert.

The Welland native has played 39 games for the Phoenix Coyotes so far this season, scoring three goals, two assists and 112 penalty minutes. He's also been in 18 fights.

It's been a big difference from a season ago when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, recording only an assist and 22 minutes in the sin bin during 15 matches.

Bissonnette, a fourth round pick by the Penguins back in the 2003 NHL entry draft, was at first disappointed to leave Pittsburgh when the club no longer wanted him, but the move to Arizona has served him well.

Even though he's playing less than 10 minutes a game, Bissonnette says the feedback he's received from coaches has been mostly positive and he is looking to re-sign with the Coyotes before the season ends.

"I'm trying to establish myself as a full-time NHLer. It's going fairly well," said Bissonnette, who was back in Niagara for about a week while the NHL takes a break for the Winter Olympics.

"It was nice in Pittsburgh because you get lots of exposure," he said, before stating the move to the Coyotes has "worked out" for him.

Heading into this season, the 24-year-old had not scored a goal at the NHL level. However, that changed on Nov. 12 when the Coyotes were visiting the Montreal Canadiens.

At the 9:30 mark of the third period, Bissonnette notched his first marker of his career. It wasn't pretty, he admitted, but it still counted.

"It was a greasy one. Hit my foot and went it," he said. "I was pretty jazzed up."

The second tally of his career was also memorable as it came at the Air Canada Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs with Bissonnette's family and friends in attendance to witness it.

"It was pretty special," he said of the goal versus the Leafs.

Bissonnette, who earns about $500,000 a year, doesn't get paid for scoring. He's paid for his rough and tough play.

Though he's not considered a heavyweight yet, the forward is working his way toward that title, but with 18 fights this season, he's on the right track.

Bissonnette's favourite dancing partner is Dallas Stars enforcer Krys Barch, a player he has fought four times including twice in their Feb. 13 game. According to www.hockeyfights.com,Bissonnette is winning most of his bouts against such players as Zack Stortini, Jared Boll and Matt Greene.

"I'm doing all right," he said. Even the anti-fighting activists must admit that the job Bissonnette and his fellow fighters perform on the ice is a difficult one.

Just like a boxer in the squared circle, these men know their roles are to throw punches and beat up the other guy, while assuming the risks of getting seriously harmed. Broken noses, broken hands and concussions are common among NHL's bad boys.

Unlike other aspects of the game, such as skating, shooting and passing, fighting isn't practised during the morning skate or pre-game warmup. The only practice they get is during games -- and it's for real.